This Is TASTE

Preston Clark is the executive chef at Lure Fishbar and Bar Mercer in New York City, and he joins us in the studio to talk about his unique career. Clark’s father, Patrick Clark, was the original chef at the Odeon and the first Black chef to win a James Beard Award. Tragically, Patrick passed away in 1998 at the age of 42. Preston has picked up the Clark legacy while writing his own chapters, and we talk about his early chef life working with his dad at Tavern on the Green and his creative approach to comfort food cooking at his wildly popular New York City restaurants. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rick Bayless joins us in the studio for a truly memorable conversation. Rick is a chef, TV personality, cookbook author, and great advocate for Mexican cooking and culture. He joins us in the studio for a candid talk about his deeply personal history with Mexican cuisine, including the opening of his pioneering restaurant Frontera Grill in Chicago and his life in and out of the kitchen.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natasha Pickowicz is a New York City–based chef and the author of More Than Cake, which was named a New York Times Best Cookbook of 2023 as well as a James Beard Award finalist. She’s also a hot pot obsessive who regularly hosts pop-ups of the communal East Asian dining experience in NYC. Now she’s sharing all her family hot pot wisdom and the techniques she’s adapted as a chef in a new book: Everyone Hot Pot. It’s so fun to have Natasha back on the show to go deep on everything you need to host a hot pot night at home. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a fun time having Nathan Thornburgh in the studio. Nathan is a former Time magazine foreign correspondent editor and is the CEO of Roads & Kingdoms, which he cofounded with writer Matt Goulding and at which Anthony Bourdain was a partner. We’ve long admired Nathan’s journalistic muscle and great feel for a story. We talk about the founding of Roads & Kingdoms and how the company’s pivot to organized travel has been a really great choice.  Also: Fresh Food TV with Matt Goulding Have a future guest request? A restaurant we should visit? Take the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This Is TASTE listener survey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We really appreciate the feedback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Lawrence is the chef-owner of Bridges, an ambitious and stylish restaurant on the edge of Manhattan’s Chinatown. Formerly the culinary director of Ignacio Mattos’s restaurant group, he opened Bridges in 2025. It won a Michelin star in its first year. Today on the show, Sam shares about bringing Bridges to life, Michelin recognition, and his plans for year two of the restaurant.  Before that, Matt has a great conversation with Fatima Popal. Fatima is the chief operating and financial officer of the Popal Group, a family-owned hospitality business based in Washington, DC, that is behind beloved restaurants like Lapis, Pascual, Lutèce, and Maison Bar à Vins. For this Resy Generations interview, we talk about what it’s like running a family restaurant business, and what it’s like to sit down for dinner with your family (and coworkers).   The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices